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Topic: Henry Milker kits (Read 4091 times)

Has anyone tried the Henry Milker kits (http://www.henrymilker.com/)? Especially on sheep? We have asked the company and they said it will also work for sheep. Just wanted to see what other people think of that equipment...

Since we only have 4 ewes to milk next year, we don't want to spend a load of $$ investing on a milker... yet (we will if we decide to get more ewes next fall!)

Hi Crystal, I've used the Henry Milker on my Nigerian Dwarf goats. I like a fair number of things about it but somethings could be improved upon perhaps. The pump is a brake line fluid evacuating pump and although it's a good brand/version it will break down and he was not willing to replace one for my friend. He asked how many goats she was milking and she answered 3 or 4 ( I can't remember but it was a low number) and he answered that the pump was only meant for a couple of goats for a year. Nowhere does the website say that. Replacement pumps from him are not cheap. They are made in the UK. There are some available from auto parts places that look exactly the same but don't get good reviews. (I think those are made in China if I remember correctly) There is a $45 different model through parts stores that can be rebuilt with a rebuild kit that costs about $2.50. The pump is a bit stiffer but better than a throw away tool. it's made of metal rather than plastic. The valves he uses can be found elsewhere for less than a dollar and are clearly described as not applicable for pressure uses, only for gravity flow but they seem to mostly work okay. I think the only thing really needed from him is the top with the two places for the tubing and the little cleaning brushes for the tubing. Everything is easy to source elsewhere and cheaper. I think he won't sell the jar tops to anyone who hasn't ordered the whole kit in the past so if you want to make a milker yourself you need to find someone who has bought the kit and have them order a couple of tops for you.

I'm happy to answer further questions.......It's not a quick milker but it is easiest for small teated species or breeds.

The Henry Milker is pretty much the only way I've ever milked our sheep. We have Babydoll Southdowns and a Finn-Babydoll cross; rather small sheep. I needed to collect colostrum for bottle babies last year and the Henry worked for that. Since it worked for milking colostrum from the sheep I kept with it and took those ewes' milk for about a month. I didn't use a stand. I straddled the sheep backwards at a hay feeding once per day, stooping to milk from the rear. It was a little rough on my back, but I was happy to have that precious sheeps' milk for the short time I collected it. Having larger sheep and a stand for them I suppose would be a much more productive approach in using the Henry Milker. I wasn't after large amounts of ewe's milk though. I made one small batch oh cheese out of pure ewe's milk, but froze most of it to blend with goat milk later in the season. I plan to do it again the same way this coming year, if time permits.

I use the Henry on our Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats mainly. I've been pretty happy with it as an economical alternative to a milking machine. I find it actually slower than hand milking, but easier on the hands.

I have a Henry Milker that I used on two of my Saanen does. The main thing I don't like about it (besides the fact that I can hand-milk faster) is that there really needs to be a soft gasket around the top of the teat cup to protect the udder and keep it from either pulling udder tissue into the cup or damaging the udder or teat in some other way. The cups are really large syringes and the edges are a bit sharp. Using a plastic teat cup for an electric milker may be a good option.

Either one, really, Tiarella That is, use that teat cup and put it on the Henry Milker.

Thanks for the link for Perry's Milkers. They're way too expensive for me, though. Someone pointed me to a link for a home-made vacuum pump. I need to do a little more research, but it sounds promising.

you will need to tweak the vacuum pressure perhaps (also, Im not sure if continues suction works ok) and setup up appropriate food grade lines with soft gaskets to go on the tits.

Not sure what you mean about the suction. Would you explain further? Also, how does someone tweak vacuum pressure?

xyztal, I got this information by email in response to a question I asked on a dairy goat forum. I found it helpful and thought you might, too:

A vacuum pump has two basic specifications: the maximum vacuum it can pump (which isn't very important for a milker) and the volume it will pump, typically in cubic feet per minute (CFM). THAT is the spec that you must meet or exceed.

So your surge milker SHOULD specify how many CFMs it needs, and you need any old vacuum pump that can supply that much volume.

Secondary specifications are what sort of power it requires. Some run on 12 VDC, which might be useful for running from a car battery, while most will be 120 VAC, which you'll have to plug into the wall.

Other specifications include the port size. Try to find one that matches your surge milker, so you won't have to buy adaptors. (I'm guessing your milker uses what is called "hose barb" connectors that a hose slides tightly onto, probably 1/4".)